


Love's Labors Won

by KethriHolmes



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Comics), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Love, Romance, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-01-18
Packaged: 2018-05-14 17:38:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5752261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KethriHolmes/pseuds/KethriHolmes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A girl who's luckless in love finds her superhero.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love's Labors Won

I have the worst luck with love. It's unbelievable how bad my luck is. Sure, there are always the girls who get into the bad relationships. I don't even get that far. I always end up liking the guys who don't want a relationship, or don't like me that way. I swear, I have a sign on my back that, instead of "kick me," it says, "don't love me." Honestly, I'd prefer to be kicked.

Needless to say, by the time the Matchmaker came to town, I was starting to get just a little bit desperate. No, I didn't go in right away, because I don't really believe in all that stuff, and I still had _some_ self respect, but after a couple weeks, the idea had wriggled into my mind and rooted itself there. I mean, after all, what did I have to lose? She was doing it for free. And besides, my curiosity was eating me alive. So one day before work, I stopped by the tent she had set up in the middle of a field by my house. It was a popular field, apparently. There was a carnival that set up there every year, and a firework stand in the summer.

Anyways, I went in the Matchmaker's tent and almost drowned in the thick perfume. She was sitting in the back, a table and chair in front of her. I advanced cautiously, unsure of what to do.

"Come in, sit. Don't be shy," the lady said. She sounded old. I looked down at the table and saw her shriveled hands and my theory was proven. It was impossible to tell from anything else because not even her eyes were showing.

I sat down in the chair across from her and waited. The lady just sat there, not moving. At one point, I opened my mouth to say something, but she held her hand out to stop me. So I took the opportunity to look around. The tent looked like _Aladdin_ had thrown up all over it. The floor was covered in Arabic-style rugs. Well, if she wanted to go flying around I would totally believe she could.

Finally, she spoke, making me jump. Or start. Start is probably a better word. The heavy air was making me too sluggish to jump.

"You think that you've been unlucky, Noemi," she said in her shaky, old-lady voice. "You feel like love has abandoned you. But have hope. Providence is saving something special for you." Okay, so the fact that she knew my name was a little weird. It wasn't like it was a common, easy-to-guess name. But the rest of it was the spirit-raising bullcrap that I'd been expecting. _Of course_ I felt like love had abandoned me. If I'd had a thriving love life, I wouldn't have needed to resort to some crazy mystic. The rest was the typical horoscope-style stuff that could apply to anyone and everyone.

Then I saw her reach into a box and pull out a delicate silver chain with two charms on it. Had that been put together beforehand? One of the charms was a surprisingly accurate representation of the _U.S.S. Voyager_ from _Star Trek_ \- yes, I'm a nerd. The other one looked like a glorified brick with a stick up its ass.

"The starship represents you on your journey to find love. I know you feel lost and alone, but know that you will find you way home soon." Okay, again, it was a little weird. How did she know I would understand that reference? She leaned across the table and clasped the chain around my neck. "The hammer represents your true love, so that you will know him when you see him." She sat back down and her head fell back. I heard snoring and took that as my cue to leave.

I left feeling less disappointed than I expected. But that's probably because I came in without expecting much. I had gotten the same advice that I figured I would, so it didn't really change how I felt. But I got a pretty necklace out of the deal.

I started walking to work - no car, just my feet and sometimes a bicycle. I turned the corner and had to do a double-take. In the middle of the street, an epic battle was happening between a hero and a robot. Which was odd in and of itself. Colorado Springs wasn't exactly New York City or San Francisco. We didn't get a lot of superhero action here. In fact, this was the first one I'd ever seen, and I've lived here all my life. But that wasn't even the weirdest part. What was really weird was that, in the hero's hand was the same odd hammer that was around my neck.

I was so preoccupied with this that I didn't notice the robot was falling right towards me until it was too close for me to get out of the way in time. I closed my eyes, preparing for the worst...but it never came. Instead of feeling like I was being crushed by tons of metal, I felt like I was...flying?

I looked down and gasped when I realized how high up I was, holding tighter onto...my train of thought paused as my gaze slowly drifted up, past a silver breast plate and red cape up to a handsome face surrounded by glorious blonde hair that fell down until it barely brushed his shoulders. My breath got caught in my throat - he was absolutely gorgeous.

We floated back to the ground and he set me back on my feet. "Are you alright?" He asked. My head was spinning. All I could do was nod. Speech was now beyond me.

I stood there, awestruck as he continued to fight the robot. It was so powerful to watch, yet graceful at the same time. I was still entranced when the alarm on my phone went off, causing me to jump. I tore my attention away from the battle. My "move your ass" alarm was ringing. Time to go or I would be late for work. I ran off.

My job was working at a nearby library. It was probably a little too far for a walk, and through a bad neighborhood, but again, no car. Still, I could move when I needed to move, so I still checked in on time. I spent the day in a haze, my mind constantly drifting back tot hat morning and the two...dare I call them coincidences? My hand moved to the charms on my necklace, but I pushed that thought out of my mind. Impossible. Ridiculous. Ridiculously impossible. There was literally no way. I redoubled my efforts, shelving books furiously, trying in vain to put that morning out of my mind.

The day seemed to go by fairly quickly. Time tends to fly when you're lost in your own thoughts. Soon it was time for the walk home, which was always the worst part. By the time I got off work, it was ten o'clock at night and dark outside. I had to walk back through that bad neighborhood and the whole time my paranoia and over-active imagination were in overdrive. Nothing had happened...yet. I saw some guys on the other side of the street. They were talking and laughing and didn't seem to be paying any attention to me, but I still watch them warily, so that when one pointed at me, I was ready. 

They crossed the street and I started walking faster while still trying to look like I wasn't panicked at all. Which I totally was. When I sped up, so did they. Now it was time to panic. I took off running. I could hear them behind me, steadily getting closer. And then the inevitable happened - I tripped. I had no balance or coordination, so I was surprised I had lasted as long as I had, running away.

The men were on me before I would get back up. All three of them circled around me, drawing closer. I tensed, ready to fight, but then the one directly in front of me dropped to the ground. I couldn't see exactly what was going on in the dark, but I could see a shadow flashing around, and every time I saw the shadow, I heard a grunt from one of the guys. 

Before I knew it, they were in a pile on the sidewalk and a hand was reaching down to me. "My name is Donald Blake. Are you alright?" A man asked. His voice sounded familiar...

"Noemi Angelo." I smiled and took his hand. "I...I think so," I said, trying to stand. My left ankle crumpled underneath me. If Donald hadn't been holding on to me, I would have ended up back on the ground. "Or maybe not." I reached down to check it. It didn't seem like there was any bone sticking out, but it was probably sprained or fractured. "I think I sprained my ankle."

The man bent down and I could see his face a little. Now he _definitely_ seemed familiar, but I still couldn't place him. "Can you walk?" He asked. I shook my head. He slipped one arm around my back and the other under my knees as he lifted me up. It wasn't hard, since I was so short. I could feel the muscles rippling under me. "Where do you live?"

"Oh, you probably don't want to carry me all the way home," I answered. "I live kind of far away."

"If I do not carry you, how do you intend to get home?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

I opened my mouth, fully intending to give some kind of retort about how I could handle myself, but then I reconsidered. I _wouldn't_ be able to get myself home. I needed this Donald Blake's help, much as I hated to admit it. I sighed and scowled. "Fine. Just keep following this road for a while. It's a bit of a walk this way before we turn." I settled down in to his arms, which were warm and strong and comfortable. Before I realized it, I was falling asleep there. My eyelids got heavier and heavier until I fell asleep. 

I woke up in an unfamiliar place and panicked, trying to jump up off the couch that I'd been laying on, but a sharp pain in my leg sat me back down. "Good. You are awake."I turn around to see Donald standing in the doorway, holding a tray with breakfast on it. "I knew not where you lived and you were sleeping so soundly that I did not want to wake you, so I brought you back to my home."

I wanted to protest my being practically kidnapped, but that was only a back thought. The rest of my mind was preoccupied with staring at the man in front of me. So familiar...a thought snapped into my head and everything clicked into place. "You're that guy from before!"

A confused look passed over Donald's face. "Yes...I am the one who saved you last night..."

"And yesterday morning," I pressed, watching him intently. "You saved me from that robot."

A look of...not panic, but sort of...flashed across Donald's face, but it cleared so quickly that I couldn't be sure that I had even seen it. Except that I knew now. Donald was the same as the hero I had seen yesterday. "I know not what you are talking about." He said, trying to recover.

I shook my head. "No, no, it makes perfect sense. How else would you have been able to take out those three guys like that? I couldn't see much, but even I could tell that the fight was painfully in your favor, and they weren't exactly pushovers."

Donald looked guiltily down at his feet and I knew I was right. "Would it surprise you to know that nobody had put the two together before?"

I laughed. "No. I wouldn't have put it together, either, if I hadn't been such an idiot and needed saving twice in one day."

Donald smiled. "So, how is your leg?" He asked, switching subjects.

I looked down in slight surprise. It hurt to step on it, but as I thought about it, I realized that it didn't hurt as much as it _should_ have. That was because it had been bandaged and braced.

"I work as a doctor," he explained.

"When you're not superhero-ing," I teased. "What's your name, anyways? And don't tell me it's Donald."

"Thor," he smiled. "But you cannot tell anyone about that part."

I got a slightly evil grin on my face. "Alright, but on one condition," I said.

Thor raised his eyebrows. "And what is that?"

"You have to go on a date with me..."


End file.
